Farm to Table NB
Farm-to-Table NB connects diners and farmers through hyperlocal suppers.
Chanelle Belliveau still gets goosebumps when she watches a video she made of the first farm-to-table dinner she ever hosted. The panoramic clip captures the sights and sounds of a dreamy fall evening at Ferme Marcel Goguen, an apple orchard in Cocagne, New Brunswick.
“You hear the birds and the wind and people chatting amongst each other,” says Chanelle from her home in Moncton. “It was so beautiful to see not only people gathered together to share our love for local food but to create something that celebrated and uplifted local farmers in that way.”
In the five years since her successful launch in September 2020, Chanelle, the founder of Farm-to-Table NB, has hosted approximately 60 such dinners at farms across New Brunswick, including Ocean Breeze, a lavender farm in Bouctouche, and Belding Hill Farms in Hampton. Along with seasonal communal dinners. Her company offers cooking classes and slow-living workshops, all focused on local.
In curating her farm-to-table dining experiences, Chanelle’s passion for local and seasonal goes beyond the menu, infusing every element of the event, from fresh foraged flowers and foliage decorating the table to a playlist reflecting the vibe of that time of year.
Most local of all?
“I try to set the table near where the food is grown so people can see where their meal came from.”
With a lifelong passion for cooking and gardening, Chanelle founded Farm-to-Table following her education in holistic nutrition and culinary nutrition and field training on an organic vegetable farm near Bouctouche, a job that proved to be a pivotal experience.
“It was my first time really working on a farm, and it was so eye-opening,” she says. “You see how much work, time, and love go into it. It makes you appreciate the food and the farmer so much more when you get that hands-on experience.”
Growing up in Cap-Pelé, Chanelle’s family had a backyard garden planted with staples like carrots or cucumbers. On the farm, she was fascinated to see, for the first time, how more obscure vegetables, such as celery root, kohlrabi and kale, grew.
At the time, she was also teaching cooking classes at a Moncton food bank, where she met many children, and even some adults, who didn’t have a clear sense of where their food came from beyond the grocery store.
Chanelle saw an opportunity to lessen the disconnect between farmers, food producers and consumers.
“I thought it would be so fun to create something that would bring the community onto the farm without adding any additional work to the farmers because they’re already busy,” she says.
Her original idea was on-site cooking classes at New Brunswick farms, but the logistics proved too complicated. Undaunted, she hit upon the idea of hosting dinners on farms.
“The farmers can talk about their work, their background, and the history of the farm, and people can see where the food grows,” she says. Backed by this mini-education, her guests then get to savour it in delicious multi-course menus she builds around the ingredients specific to that farm and other local products.
“That’s how it started, with my vision of pushing the local food movement a little bit more and supporting farmers at the same time.”
Along with New Brunswick ingredients, she incorporates local culture, as well, including her Acadian background, through classic dishes such as poutine rapée and fricot, the simple, delicious stew of boiled root vegetables, meat, and dumplings.
“I love to be able to have that part of my culture incorporated, to share that as well,” she says.
She is always looking for new ingredients, such as sea buckthorn or New Brunswick redfish, which she featured at a dinner in September at Maven Hills Farm in Memramcook Valley, part of her monthly Sunday night Supper Club. In this intimate event, about a dozen people gather around the table to share a family-style meal crafted from New Brunswick produce, meat, cheeses and other local products.
“For me, the primary component is showcasing local food and connecting the community with the farmers,” she says. “But there’s also that magical aspect of connection with each other that I think people are craving.”
Inspired by the producers whose work and foods she celebrates, this self-described “aspiring farmer” is preparing for the next big step in her business and life.
“My ultimate goal is to have my own piece of land with my garden and farm animals where I can host cooking classes and dinner right on the property,” she says. “That’s the dream.”
